Potisitve

Large city and center of population and culture (cultural perspective)

Neurtal

City Schools

Center of population, finance, commerce (geographic perspective)

Community Schools

A group of people forming a smaller social unit within a larger one, and sharing common experiences

Neighborhood Schools

People living near one another

Urban Schools

A city with at least 50,000 people (U.S. Census)

Negative

Inner City Schools

Sections of a large city especially when crowded or blighted

Ghetto Schools

Section of a city in which many members of some minority group live or to which they are restricted as by economic pressure or social discrimination.

Slum Schools

Heavily populated area of a city characterized by poverty, poor, dilapidated or dirty

Possibilities

Wider range of acceptable thinking and acting

More progressive ideas

Global awareness

Higher concentration of universities

Context has served as scaffolding for:

Multicultural education

Culturally relevant teaching

Teaching for social justice

Education for people with disabilities

Several civil rights initiatives

Characteristics

The school has a student population above 5,000,

The school has more than 60% students of color,

The school is more than 65% economically disadvantaged ,

The school has more than 11% of English Language Learners,

The school has more than 15% students with disabilities,

The school has graduation rates of less than 65%,

The school has been designated as “Focus or Priority” by NYSED.

Challenges

High administrative mobility

Less access to science and math resources

Inadequate funding

Factionalized infighting

High teacher shortages

High level of student health problems

Old school buildings

Urban schools typically have a mixture of possibilities, characteristics and challenges. Our goal is to help our students gain the awareness of how different schools can be. Once they reach this understanding they are more likely to quickly adjust to the roles they will be expected to play, and to take advantage of community resources where they find themselves teaching.